Agenda - Planning Commission - 05/01/2003

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28 This area will also include some high density housing facing the greenway running through the middle of the development. · This center greenway wilt serve two functions. One, it will serve as recreationa/and green space for the residents of Ramsey and the Town Center. The greenway will be traversed with trails for walking and biking and have areas for active recreation. The greenway wilt be surrounded by one- way streets that will also help define the area. The second function of the greenway will be for stormwater management. It is anticipated that the greenway will have several wet ponds that will assist in stormwater quality management, and through the use of meandering streams, will convey the water eventually to the Mississippi River. The area north .of the greenway .is primarily residential with attached housing (townhomes, row homes). The Sketch Plan shows a green space amenity embedded in each residential block. In certain areas, some of the residential units may go as high as 4 -5 stories. The residential areas are intended to be served by sidewalks and trails that will assist in pedestrian and bike movement to the Town Center core. A small commercial node is identified to be located at the intersection of County Highway 116 and Ramsey Blvd. This node is intended to serve more auto-dependent uses such as a gas station or commercial uses with a drive-thru. The Ramsey Town Center will dramatically change the present land use to a highly-urbanized commercial, retail, recreational and residential development that will serve Ramsey residents and residents and commuters of the larger region. Due to the large impact of the development, the City is required to conduct an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) environmental review. The AUAR looks at ali environmental impacts created by the development. Items that are reviewed and analyzed include impacts to habitat, wetlands and water supply, local infrastructure (roads and utilities), air and noise pollution, and traffic impact. On April 8, 2003, the City Council released a draft AUAR for the Town Center that comprised nearly 300 pages. The Draft AUAR is now in the review period for the public and local, county, and state agencies. It is expected that comments will be received by late May and that the City will respond to the comments and release a final AUAR in late June. The design of the Town Center sketch plan occurred in conjunction with the preparation of the Draft AUAR. While comments solicited from the AUAR process may ultimately impact the final layout of the Town Center, the sketch plan under consideration factored in the potential environmental impacts as part of the design. The proposed Town Center will require significant upgrading of the local, County, and State road system. The Town Center AUAR identifies many improvements that will be made to the transportation network surrounding the Ramsey Town Center by full build-out. The following roadway widenings are needed: · Ramsey Boulevard--widen to five lane cross section south of Industry Avenue to provide two through lanes in each direction and a left turn lane/center median · Industry Avenue--widen to five lane cross section west of Ramsey Boulevard to provide two through lanes in each direction and a left turn lane/~enter median. Turn lanes and lane adjustments will be needed at the following intersections: · TH 10 at Armstrong Boulevard--add an eastbound and a westbound through lane on the intersection approaches; add an eastbound and a southbound left turn lane and a southbound right turn lane. · TH 10 at Ramsey Boulevard--add an eastbound and a westbound through lane on the intersection approaches; add an eastbound and a southbound let5 turn lane and a westbound right